Today, Business Week online posted a brief article about a recent German study that found acupuncture has a significant impact in reducing pain: http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/638829.html
It's great to see studies like this one (which have been going on for years, with similar results) confirm what acupuncturists and their patients have known for years. Now, what can we do to make this effective therapy available to more people?

User:
Denice Stanford

Posts: 1

I'm in so much pain & acupunture is something I'm going to try.I don't believe in just taking medication drs prescribe.Why not try other things?
Foods,herbs,spices,acupunture & other things.I am on script pain killers but they do minimal relief.
I have Sciatica & I have osteoarthritis,my entire back is effected by it.Yes,I'm going to give acupunture a try,go 4-5 times see if I notice any improvement & if it works for me I will use it to help me.Get it done often to ease the extent of extreme pain I get,as I have trouble even walking.

I'm not a fan of acupuncture before. Until my friend forced me to try it. So I went to http://www.nicholassieben.com/ and schedule for an appointment since its near to my place. I was pretty scared at first, but then after the therapy I felt totally relief. I didn't knew that even toothache pain can be cured by acupuncture. Seriously, I become more fascinated at this, I even try to convince some of my friends to try it also.

Oh boy but do I love this great advice! Thanks Christiane! I began my practice in France where acupuncture is covered. I worked with a medical doctor who used acupuncture in 90% of his patients! He even used it for anesthesia in operations!
My patients think the out of pocket expense is worth it because it is less invasive and there are no side effects. But I would love to see my patients covered by their insurance and always ask them to call their provider and voice their concern. Thanks for such excellent feedback.

The cost of acupuncture
The main obstacle to wider availability of acupuncture is cost. Most patients would gladly take needles rather than pain killers but will have to pay out-of-pocket because acupuncture is rarely a covered benefit under their health insurance policy (if they have insurance). Clinical studies in England and Germany have already established that acupuncture can actually SAVE money and thatâ€™s why it is now included in state-mandated insurance programs. Effective acupuncture for pain management is more labor-intensive than writing a prescription for pain medication. Practitioners spend years studying East Asian and conventional medicine to become certified and licensed. So the solution is not to ask acupuncturists to donate their expertise but to mandate that insurance cover it, just like other treatments that have been shown by research to be effective. Let your HR liaison, insurance provider and elected officials know that you would like to see acupuncture included in your coverage. The squeaky wheel gets the oil!

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